ASEAN and the world

Rice prices will rise until the middle of the year as consumers around the world are beefing up their stockpiles, while China will not increase their exports for food security to deal with the outbreak of the acute respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), the Thai Rice Exporters Association (TREA) forecast.

Malaysia’s central bank on March 3rd cut its key interest rate to the lowest in 20 years at 2.5 percent, with the aim to support the economy.

The ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) took place in the central coastal city of Da Nang on March 4th with the participation of hundreds of senior officials from the 10 ASEAN member countries.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19), first reported in China, has hit Indonesia’s tourism sector as the country records slower growth in tourist arrivals following bans applied to visitors from China.

Laos has decided to postpone its 11th National Games scheduled for March 22nd – April 1st in Xieng Khuang province due to concern over the global spread of COVID-19 outbreak.

Singaporean Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing outlined five measures in which the government will help firms seize opportunities abroad, while addressing the parliament on March 3rd.

Cambodian rice exports to international markets grew by more than 21 percent in the first two months of this year despite global concerns over the COVID-19 epidemic, according to the country’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

A workshop highlighting the potential and benefits of the free trade agreement (FTA) between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Canada was held in Ottawa on March 2nd.

The offices of the Indonesian Embassy and the Indonesian Investment Promotion Centre (IIPC) in Seoul, the Republic of Korea (RoK), were temporarily closed on February 28th after a COVID-19 case had been reported in a nearby area.

Thailand has recorded its first coronavirus fatality, local health officials said on March 1st.

President of the Bersatu party Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in as Malaysia’s eighth prime minister at the royal palace on March 1st.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved USD40 million in loans to support the modernization of government-owned irrigation networks and vegetable production in Mongolia.

(CPV) - ADB opened a satellite office in Clark, about 100 kilometers north of Manila on February 27th 2020. The office will serve as a hub in the central Luzon region for ADB-financed infrastructure projects under the government’s “Build, Build, Build” development program.

(CPV) - ADB) has approved a further USD2 million to help developing countries in Asia and the Pacific contain the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and improve resilience to this and other communicable diseases.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank's (ADB) new Country Director for Sri Lanka, Chen Chen, assumed office in Colombo on February 24th 2020.

Malaysia’s King Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah on February 24th accepted Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s resignation but asked him to stay on in the role until a new PM is appointed and a cabinet formed, the country’s Chief Secretary Mohd Zuki Ali said the same day.

(CPV) - Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa met Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on February 24th 2020 and pledged full support for the country’s proactive development agenda.

The 27th ASEAN – New Zealand Dialogue took place on February 20th-21st in Cambodia, focusing on commitments to further deepening bilateral strategic partnership in 2020.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) joined the Government of Vanuatu in a commissioning ceremony on February 21st 2020 to open several junior secondary schools that were built back better following damage by Cyclone Pam in 2015.

The Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten) of Indonesia has obtained the test results of nine residents following the finding of radioactive contamination in a vacant land plot in Serpong, South Tangerang city, over 40km in the south of Jakarta.

A special meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC) and a special conference of ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers on cooperation in responding to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) took place in Vientiane, Laos, on February 20th.

Indonesia and the European Union (EU) have agreed to complete the negotiations on the Indonesia-EU Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU CEPA) by the end of 2020.

(CPV) - Nearly 3 million people in Niger, more than half of whom are children, need humanitarian assistance amidst the risks posed by insecurity, malnutrition, recurrent disease epidemics, cyclical floods, droughts and displacement. UNICEF called for increased attention to the plight of children and their families on February 19th 2020.

Malaysia hopes to meet its target of welcoming a record 30 million tourists in 2020 by redirecting its marketing efforts to local and other markets as the number of visitors from China has dropped.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) achieved a record disbursement of USD323.7 million for development projects in Nepal in 2019.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s approval rate has surged after the first 100 days of his second term, according to a latest survey by Indo Barometer.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore downgraded its economic growth forecast to between 0.5-1.5 percent from the rate of between 0.5-2.5 percent estimated in November 2019.

(CPV) - UNICEF urgently needs USD42.3 million to scale up its response to the Covid-19 virus outbreak and support global efforts to contain it.

Thailand is seeking measures to reclaim the number one global rice exporter spot from India after losing this position for three years.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a second tranche loan of USD170 million to conclude the Third Capital Market Development Program in Bangladesh.